Only a day after the United States suspended reciprocal tariffs on electronic imports like semiconductors, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, on Sunday, said the government is going to impose new, targeted tariffs on products like smartphones, computers, semiconductors, and associated components in the next one to two months.
In an interview with ABC News, Lutnick highlighted the importance of fortifying local manufacturing capacities, especially in the production of chips and flat-panel TVs, as compared to depending on South Asian imports.
"All those products are going to fall under semiconductors, and they're going to have a special focus type of tariff to ensure that those products get reshored," said Lutnick in the interview.
He also emphasized the strategic importance of producing locally, stating, "We need to have semiconductors, we need to have chips, and we need to have flat panels — we need to have these things made in America. We can't be reliant on Southeast Asia for all the things that operate for us."
Although imports of smartphones and computers were recently excluded from the reciprocal tariff regime, Lutnick clarified that these items are now being reclassified under the upcoming semiconductor-focused tariffs, which are expected to take effect within two months.
What President Donald Trump is doing is that he's indicating they're exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, but they're caught up in the semiconductor tariffs, which are arriving likely a month or two. So, these are soon arriving," he clarified.
The announcement came after a Saturday statement by the U.S. government that smartphones, computers, and other electronic items would be exempted from the latest tariffs. Under a notice by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, these exemptions are for goods entering the country or withdrawn from bonded warehouses starting April 5.
The exemptions' scope also encompasses a wide array of tech-related products, including semiconductors, solar cells, memory cards, and other electronic components.
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